| 1973 Detroit Lions season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | William Clay Ford Sr. |
| Head coach | Don McCafferty |
| Home field | Tiger Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 6–7–1 |
| Division place | 2nd NFC Central |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
| |
The 1973 Detroit Lions season was their 44th in the league. Don McCafferty, who served as an assistant under Don Shula during Shula's stint as head coach of the Baltimore Colts, and who as head coach himself coached the Colts to a Super Bowl V victory over the Dallas Cowboys, would replace Joe Schmidt as head coach. However, the team would still fail to improve on their previous season's output of 8–5–1, finishing a mediocre 6–7–1.[1] The team missed the playoffs for the third straight season.
| 1973 Detroit Lions draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 | Ernie Price | DE | Texas A&M | from Chicago |
| 2 | 44 | Leon Crosswhite | RB | Oklahoma | |
| 3 | 58 | John Brady | TE | Washington | from Chicago |
| 3 | 71 | Jim Laslavic | LB | Penn State | |
| 3 | 75 | Levi Johnson | CB | Texas A&I | from Los Angeles |
| 4 | 81 | Mike Hennigan | LB | Tennessee Tech | |
| 4 | 91 | Dick Jauron * | S | Yale | from Atlanta |
| 4 | 96 | Jim Hooks | RB | Central State (OK) | |
| 7 | 175 | John Andrews | DT | Morgan State | |
| 8 | 200 | Prentice McCray | S | Arizona State | |
| 8 | 203 | John Bledsoe | RB | Ohio State | from Cleveland |
| 9 | 227 | Ira Dean | DB | Baylor | |
| 10 | 252 | Ray Bonner | DB | Middle Tennessee State | |
| 11 | 279 | Scott Freeman | WR | Wyoming | |
| 12 | 304 | Tom Scott | WR | Washington | |
| 13 | 331 | John Moss | LB | Pittsburgh | |
| 14 | 356 | Jay Corey | OT | Santa Clara | |
| 15 | 408 | Larry Nickels | WR | Dayton | |
| 17 | 435 | Earl Belgrave | OT | Ohio State | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Notes
| Detroit Lions roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Reserve lists
rookies in italics | |||
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 16 | atPittsburgh Steelers | L 10–24 | 0–1 | Three Rivers Stadium | 48,913 | Recap |
| 2 | September 23 | atGreen Bay Packers | T 13–13 | 0–1–1 | Lambeau Field | 55,495 | Recap |
| 3 | October 1 | Atlanta Falcons | W 31–6 | 1–1–1 | Tiger Stadium | 45,599 | Recap |
| 4 | October 7 | Minnesota Vikings | L 9–23 | 1–2–1 | Tiger Stadium | 49,549 | Recap |
| 5 | October 14 | atNew Orleans Saints | L 13–20 | 1–3–1 | Tulane Stadium | 57,810 | Recap |
| 6 | October 21 | Baltimore Colts | L 27–29 | 1–4–1 | Tiger Stadium | 48,058 | Recap |
| 7 | October 28 | Green Bay Packers | W 34–0 | 2–4–1 | Tiger Stadium | 43,616 | Recap |
| 8 | November 4 | San Francisco 49ers | W 30–20 | 3–4–1 | Tiger Stadium | 49,531 | Recap |
| 9 | November 11 | atMinnesota Vikings | L 7–28 | 3–5–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,911 | Recap |
| 10 | November 18 | atChicago Bears | W 30–7 | 4–5–1 | Soldier Field | 48,625 | Recap |
| 11 | November 22 | Washington Redskins | L 0–20 | 4–6–1 | Tiger Stadium | 46,807 | Recap |
| 12 | December 2 | atSt. Louis Cardinals | W 20–16 | 5–6–1 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 44,982 | Recap |
| 13 | December 9 | Chicago Bears | W 40–7 | 6–6–1 | Tiger Stadium | 41,729 | Recap |
| 14 | December 15 | atMiami Dolphins | L 7–34 | 6–7–1 | Miami Orange Bowl | 53,375 | Recap |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Detroit Lions (0–0) at Pittsburgh Steelers (0–0)
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| Steelers | 0 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 24 |
atThree Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Week Fourteen: Detroit Lions (6–6–1) at Miami Dolphins (11–2)
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Dolphins | 14 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 34 |
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| NFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Minnesota Vikings | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 6–0 | 10–1 | 296 | 168 | W2 |
| Detroit Lions | 6 | 7 | 1 | .464 | 3–2–1 | 6–4–1 | 271 | 247 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 5 | 7 | 2 | .429 | 1–4–1 | 4–6–1 | 202 | 259 | W1 |
| Chicago Bears | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 1–5 | 1–9 | 195 | 334 | L6 |
|
| |
|---|---|
| |
| Franchise |
|
| Records |
|
| Stadiums |
|
| Culture |
|
| Lore |
|
| Rivalries |
|
| Division championships (9) |
|
| League championships (4) |
|
| Media |
|
| Current league affiliations |
|
|
| |
|---|---|
Formerly the Portsmouth Spartans (1930–1933) | |
| |
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory |
